Structurally unsound building razed overnight on Chapel Street in New Haven

By Mary O’Leary moleary@nhregister.com @nhrmoleary on Twitter

Published
11:47 pm EDT, Sunday, August 16, 2015

NEW HAVEN >> A mid-19th century building on Chapel Street was demolished by early Monday morning after a three-foot decorative cornice ripped off the facade Sunday night.

Building Official James Turcio had the area cordoned off and the streets leading to the building partially blocked to traffic Sunday evening after a few bricks from the 3 1/2-story structure at 808-810 Chapel St. were found on the sidewalk in front of it at some point earlier on Sunday.

As the night went on however, officials decided to raze the building completely and it was down just before 2 a.m. Monday, according to Frank D’Amore, deputy director of Property Services and Property Division Specialists for Livable City Initiative. The contractor would sort through the pile of debris, separate out the steel and anything else that is salvageable before filling in the hole where the building stood, D’Amore said.

Assistant Chief Matthew Marcarelli said the Fire Department was called around 5 p.m. He confirmed that no one was injured.

“We responded here and made an assessment that it was definitely a public safety hazard,” Marcarelli said.

They determined that the utilities had been shut off to the building. There was some concern early on that there might have been gas from the street to the structure but it was too dangerous for utility officials to check as the heavy equipment moved in to take the building apart.

“It’s been neglected. That all contributed to why it was decaying,” Marcarelli said of the structure which has been empty for some time.

Turcio said a collapsed roof had started to push out a wall on the Chapel Street side of the structure which sent bricks to the sidewalk.

The building’s owners, Paul Denz and his business partner Chris Vigilanti, were on the scene into the early morning hours.

“We are just lucky this happened on a Sunday night. We are very lucky it happened on a Sunday,” Turcio said of the building in the heart of downtown that is next to a city lot that had been turned into a bus stop and shelter.

Denz said they had an agreement with the city to buy that lot and take down the building as part of redevelopment of the area.

“We had a planning meeting two weeks ago,” Denz said, with city officials.

Denz said he had his engineer in the building six months ago “and he gave us an all-clear on it.”

“The plan was to eventually take it down. I don’t think we would have done it in the middle of the night. It would have been a more organized demolition, but ultimately it would have had to come down anyways,” he said.

Turcio said he and the building’s owners had just exited the structure when the cornice ripped off some 15 minutes later.

“We’re glad no one got hurt,” Denz said.

Turcio said the second floor was missing in the building and an interior brick wall had collapsed, in addition to the roof.

Sunday night and early Monday officials had closed State and Chapel, Church and Chapel and Orange Street between Elm and Chapel streets.

“The exterior wall facing the lot (bus shelter) is only one layer of brick,” Turcio said.

The demolition did not appear to be disrupting the Monday morning commute at the bustling intersection of Chapel and Orange streets.

No streets were blocked and bus riders were able to catch their buses as normal, which came as a relief to New Haven resident Barbara Barnes.

Barnes said she called CT Transit after she heard about the collapse.

She said she was glad the stop was unaffected by the demolition.

“I’m very happy because I didn’t want to have to detour to catch the bus to work,” said Barnes, who works as a patient care assistant/certified nursing assistant, as she waited on one of the benches.

Marta Hernandez, a housekeeper who also lives in New Haven, said she didn’t know where they would’ve sent people who depend on that stop.

“I’m very happy that they did a good job” containing the debris, Hernandez said.

It was not immediately clear Monday if there would be any road closures when the rubble is cleared from the site.

City Economic Development Administrator Matthew Nemerson, who was on the scene, said they have been talking to Denz for the last year about his plans for the building.

“We have a memorandum of understanding with them and we have already seen some of their preliminary plans. We will be selling them the land,” Nemerson said.

He said they had hoped to document some of the details of the building before it was taken down. There was also a discussion of incorporating it into new development, but that did not seem possible.

“The key thing all along is the building seemed to be in terrible shape and as we can see now the whole roof was rotted out and finally collapsed,” Nemerson said. He said the top floor for the estimated 1840-1850 building was likely added later.

“These buildings go through so many different lives,” Nemerson said Sunday night.

Denz owns important pieces of downtown, but development had stalled for years over a court battle between his company and the city.

Denz’s property at 834-836 Chapel St. was demolished by city officials in 2007 after a fire, a decision that lead to years of lawsuits over who should pick up the $1.85 million demolition tab.

Nemerson said he assumed insurance would cover the cost of this demolition.

Denz also owns the property at 96 Orange St., which is next to the structure that was taken down.

The developer in 2013 bought 123-127 Church St. for $2.7 million and property he owns at 91 Church St. features a new “Five Guys” hamburger restaurant, with apartments behind it.

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According to Nemerson, the city is in discussions with Denz and Vigilanti regarding a building that would occupy the corner where the demolished building stood on Chapel Street. “It was sad to see this venerable structure come down but watching from the corner it was clear the inside had been totally compromised and gutted,” Nemerson said.

Denz owns the bulk of lots between Center and Chapel streets where the former Kresge Department store stood in the mid-20th century.

Around 7:30 p.m. Turcio said the initial plan was to push in the damaged wall, but that could percipitate a full demolition.

“We never know what is going to happen when we start pushing. We may lose more than we figured, but that portion has to go away. We have to make it safe,” Turcio said earlier in the night.

Marcarelli said the building had been neglected.

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Register reporter Wes Duplantier contributed to this report.

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Media: New Haven Register

A large pile of debris remained at the corner of Chapel and Orange streets in New Haven where a building had to be torn down Sunday night after it became unstable. City officials confirmed there were no injuries and said the building had been there since the mid-19th century. less

A large pile of debris remained at the corner of Chapel and Orange streets in New Haven where a building had to be torn down Sunday night after it became unstable. City officials confirmed there were no ... more

Photo: (Wes Duplantier -- New Haven Register)

Photo: (Wes Duplantier -- New Haven Register)

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A large pile of debris remained at the corner of Chapel and Orange streets in New Haven where a building had to be torn down Sunday night after it became unstable. City officials confirmed there were no injuries and said the building had been there since the mid-19th century. less

A large pile of debris remained at the corner of Chapel and Orange streets in New Haven where a building had to be torn down Sunday night after it became unstable. City officials confirmed there were no ... more

Photo: (Wes Duplantier -- New Haven Register)

Structurally unsound building razed overnight on Chapel Street in New Haven